26/09/2006

The 29th LUCAS Children’s Film Festival (September 24-October 1) is in full swing at the Frankfurt Am Main Film Museum and at the CineStar Metropolis cinema, taking over from the eDIT 9 Festival, which ends today (see news).

This event – the oldest children’s film festival in Germany – is aimed in particular at the children between the ages of 5-12 and gives them an opportunity to express themselves by asking questions and even sitting on the jury.

LUCAS opened on Sunday with two domestic premieres. First was Paulas Geheimnis (lit. “Paula's Secret”) by Gernot Krää, a tale of a young heroine whose diary has been stolen. While searching for it, she discovers friendship along the way. The second premiere, TKKG and the Mysterious Mind-Machine by Tomy Wigand, is a story of three children who are kidnapped.

These two films will compete alongside eleven other films, including European titles Greyfriars Bobby by John Henderson (UK), The Horror Bus [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Pieter Kuijpers (the Netherlands), Heidi by Paul Marcus (UK), the Spanish co-production Maroa by Solveig Hoogesteijn, The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar by Kasper Barfoed (Denmark), A Year In My Life [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Daniel Duval (France) and Unna and Nuuk by Saara Cantell (Finland).

Ten titles will take part in a special section on digital cinema and the use of special effects in children’s films. The festival will also present a selection of shorts. As its director Günther Kinstler points out, "LUCAS is attracting increasing attention internationally and is gaining world renown. The same can be said for children’s films as a whole, which in recent years have experienced a significant renewed interest”.

(Translated from French)